No Lombardia defence for Chaves after fall and fracture

This season his not been kind to Orica-Scott's Esteban Chaves with a crash and subsequent fracture ending a year he'd probably rather forget.

Orica-Scott's Esteban Chaves has has a season to forget. Source: Getty

Chaves fell inside the final 10km of Giro dell’Emilia in Italy on Saturday with confirmation of a fracture coming after he was taken to the hospital for diagnosis.

Tests revealed a fracture of the shoulder blade which did not require surgery by will take up to two weeks recovery before starting rehabilitation.

Chaves won the Giro dell’Emilia in 2016 but in this instance was working to set up Australian team-mate Jack Haig for the finale of the 223km race later won by Giovanni Visconti (Bahrain-Merida).

He then backed up that victory with another in the final classic of the season, the Giro di Lombardia, which he will now not defend.

“This is not how I wanted to finish my 2017 season, especially without the opportunity to return to Lombardia after such special memories last year, but this is the way it is and we now focus on the recovery and next season,” Chaves said.

“It’s just a bone and there are much bigger challenges in life, we are lucky. We will return from this and I’m looking forward to a new year in 2018.

“I want to thank the team and the hospital staff for looking after me so well and to the fans for all of their kind messages and thoughts. It means a lot, thank you. I am good.”

After finishing second overall to Richie Porte (BMC) at the Santo Tour Down Under, Chaves struggled to reach peak fitness later in the year due to a knee injury and behind personal issues following the death of a close friend.

The rehabilitation appeared to set him back for the 2017 season and he never managed to reach the heights of 2016 when he broke through with podium finishes at both the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España in addition to winning Lombardia.